Amen to that.

 

I doubt that a brand new Lincoln would "fall apart in a year or two" but whatever.

We recently bought a 06 GX to replace our RX330. Truck has about 73K miles. It has a cracked dash but it doesn't really bother me like it should. It's the only thing I can find wrong with it but it brings a smile to my face every time I drive it so I can look past it.

I liked our 330 but it had this really annoying trans shutter between the 2-3 shift. I guess it sounds like a pretty common problem with them from what I've read and from what the dealer told me. "It's just how they are" is what I was told. I brought it to Lexus a few times and they would upgrade and reset the firmware so it could "readjust/re-learn to our shift points". Nothing worked. We had the vehicle from 70-115K miles and it never got any better or worse.

Should Lexus replace the dash for free if it cracks? Probably. Will they? No.

Some 330 owners were able to muster a new transmission under warranty from Lexus. Many had the same issues with the new one.

I'm just glad I don't have a shuttering tranny anymore, I can live with a cracking dash....

 

in reply to cdew002, our only chance of owning another Lexus, is if Lexus of Orlando calls and says they will cover the TOTAL repair. I have messed with this long enough and they have had 2 chances to correct this. Our NEW MKX is great. My wife and i will swap cars in a few months, to keep miles even, and the magnetic door signs will go on saying "Ask me about Lexus dashes cracking". My wife car pools alot and 8 friends have bought new vehicles since our dash problems began in 2009.
3 purchased Infinity, 2 BMW, 2 Cadillac and 1 MKX like ours. 3 traded Lexus (before the dashes cracked). I would have traded but i could not get FMV with the CRACKED DASH, so i will be driving it as advertisement on why NOT to buy a Lexus.

 

There are two types of owners: those with cracks, and those who will get them.
To arrest the growth of cracks read this thread:

Read this: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/gx-...ota-acura.html

Youtube vid: If the youtube hyperlink doesn't work or doesn't show on here, search for : crack arrest technique on youtube.

Good luck.


O

 

My 2004 has been doing this for over a year now.. I agree with the guy in the video that you need to stop the crack from spreading, however staring at a hole in my dash is not what I am aiming for.

Therefore there is a better, more OEM approach to this.

Supplies:
- Powder suger (yes... the stuff your wife or mom put on top of brownies).
- Crazy Glue (small package) like this:
- small flathead screwdriver (the type you use for reading glasses.)
- 600 grit sandpaper (wet/dry)
- 2000 grit sandpaper (wet/dry)
- A can or two of SEM Color Coat Aerosols.
(link here: http://www.tcpglobal.com/autobodydepot/semccaero.aspx)

What you do is take your screwdriver and stick it into the crack in the dash to try and open it up. take some Krazy glue and fill the entire crack. Use the screwdriver to help get the glue inside the crack. At this point dont worry about the white residue thats starting to show. Dont worry about the rough texture, or anything that will further stress you out. As you finish filling the crack use your fingers to try and pinch the crack together while the glue dries.

At this point we need to make the repair area consistent with the rest of the dash surface. Take some Krazy glue and apply it over the cracked area while sprinkling it with powdered sugar. (Be liberal with the sugar.)

Once this dries (5min or so), take your 600 grit sandpaper and wet it. We will slowly start to sand down the hardened sugar/glue area to help match the rest of your dash. The 2000 grit is for you to sand both on and around the cracked surface area to aid in blending the repaired area.

At this point clean the dash with simple green or any other grease removing soap. Allow the dash to fully dry and use a tack cloth to help pick up any hairs or dirt. The paint will now be able to adhere to the dash area without worry, so long as you have confidently cleaned the dash!

Using newspaper and painters tape, mask off all areas you dont want paint. A-pillar, wood trim, A/C vents, speakers, etc.

Spray 2-3 light coats on the dash and let sit for 20-30 minutes. Come back and do a light coat, followed by a medium coat and let sit for 1 hour. At this point I like to check my surface area and make sure everything looks even. Once the hour has passed remove all tape and paper, and let the dash cure for a week before applying any armorol or dash shine.

Viola! Like it never happened!

 

Jafch1, your approach is interesting. If you are still going to fill in the cracks and sand, I recommend to make the holes and stop crack growth before you proceed with your approach. There are stress concentrations at the tips of cracks, and the cracks will continue to grow with material expansion on hot days if you don't "round off" the tips. The holes can still be patched up with your method. Your method seems good. Do you have pictures or video of the end result?

Thanks!


OA

 

I will post pictures later today when I get into my car to go to work.

As for "rounding them off" I never did that simply because I never saw this video until now.. My cracks so far have held up. I have a new one coming up, thats on my long to-do list. lol

 

Add me to the list of cracked dashboards. My GX is a 2007 with 76K miles and well maintained (by me and Lexus). Discovered them today while going to lunch with the wife. Cracks between the glove box and center console. And another on the left side just below the dash vent and progressing over the gauge pod.

This absolutely shocks me that this is happening in 2013. The last car I had a dash crack in was my '77 Buick Regal. I know it's hot in South Florida, but the heat is not excuse when none of my other cars have cracked dashboards.

I'll go see my Service Advisor next week. I don't want to pay $2000.00 for a new dash, but since I plan on keeping this truck "forever", I damn sure don't want to drive around with dash cracks in a vehicle that stickered for $55K in 2007.

I would be willing to split the cost with Lexus if I can get them to that position.

FYI - This must be a Toyota issue. My business partner has cracks in the dash of his 2008 4Runner.

Hope everyone is doing well on here. Haven't been active in a while.

Cheers.
Bob

2007 GX470
2007 BMW 335i (soon to be replaced with an Audi S5)
2005 Nissan 350Z (garage queen that I am looking to find a new home)

 

- THEY ARE REFUSING TO FIX MY DASHBOARD. I AM THE SECOND OWNER OF A 2005 RX 330 AND SOON AFTER I PURCHASED THE DASHBOARID STARTED TO CRACK AND NOW IS FALLING OFF. TOOK THE CAR TO TWO LEXUS DEALER AND THE QUESTIONS WAS THE SAME AS YOURS.

I BELIEVE AND WANT TO KNOW HOW TO PUT FORH A CLASS ACTION SUIT IN ORDER FOR LEXUS TO FIX EVERYONE'S DASHBOARD.

SolMiami

 

- don't buy it.

 

I have been living with my cracked dash board for 9 months now, and I haven't seen it change. I did buy a really good sunshade but I love my GX470 - 2007.

I am the second owner and I share the frustration about Lexus not fixing it, they did give me $500 credit on my account, and I guess one day I will fix it.

mtpeanut - if you don't care about the crack then sounds like the 06 GX470 is a good deal.

 

Mine cracked today too. I knew it was a matter of time.

Have people still been having luck getting some type of deal from Lexus (50% off parts or something)? I'm okay with doing the swap myself but the part cost itself is absurdly high.

Or does someone know of a source for a new OEM Lexus dash for a reasonable price?

 

I have same dash cracks on my 2005 GX470.Though it looks hurrible overlook it.My major headache is my audio not working with the message audio off on screen. I do not know what to do to get a solution and have the sound system working. I get bored driving the vehicle without any form of music even radio working.Wilfred

 

Just thought I'd add to the thread. I have a 2005 GX470 that my wife drives and loves. Its been worry free until yesterday when we picked it up from the dealer after having done the 90K service, plus brakes, WP, and a couple other service items. (In other words, dropped a ton of money into it). Nothing wrong with the thing when I brought it in, just trying to keep it in top shape. When we picked it up and got in, we weren't two blocks from the dealership when my wife exclaims, " what the hell is this!" Well it was a crack in the dash on the passenger side starting at the air vent. She drives the car every day, and would have noticed this crack before. Maybe not right away since its on the passenger side, but its pretty obviously in front. So we looked around some more and noticed others at bend points in the dash that weren't so obvious. Maybe they were there and we missed them. Anyway, turned right around and showed the service advisor who I'd just picked up the car from. He said it just happens with sun and temperature changes. I told him my '94 suburban doesn't have them, and we had that in TX for 12 years before moving to GA. My wife has religiously used a sunshade (learned habit from living in TX), and since she loves her GX, it's religiously kept in the garage. Not sure what else to do. Right now, after having read through this thread, I'm thinking the dealer service bay is air conditioned, and going from the hot outdoors in the summer in GA to the bay caused enough of a rapid temp change to initiate the inevitable cracks. Guess we've just been lucky to have put them off this long, based on this thread. I asked the service advisor for a quote to replace the dash, so I guess I'll see what he says...

 

Obviously I was looking at this thread because we now have this same problem on our '04 GX470. It has 150K miles on it and started last month. It cracked all around the radio console area and then runs across the top of the cluster on the driver side. In the last week, a new crack is running across the middle of the passenger airbag area.

The original plan was to keep this car, even when we buy a new one, but now, we're considering to trade it in for a new one. That's really sad since I really love my car and have always used the sunshade religiously.